Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and San Diego
County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis today announced the arrest of an
individual who ran a sophisticated scheme at San Diego area Lowe's and Home
Depot stores in which he replaced the bar codes on expensive merchandise
with bar codes that scanned at lower prices.
Steve Allen
Koski, 42, of San Diego, was arraigned yesterday in San Diego Superior
Court on 11 felony counts, including grand theft and 10 counts of burglary.
His bail has been set at $250,000. He is being held in San Diego County
Jail.

Koski stole or attempted to steal more than $30,000 in
copper wire and other merchandise from Lowe's and Home Depot stores. He
then re-sold that merchandise to California recycling centers for over
$180,000.

"For all the efficiency and conveniences that
modern technologies provide, we are continuing to see criminals use these
same technologies to defraud California businesses and consumers," Attorney
General Harris said. "The eCrime Unit is devoted to aggressively pursuing
criminals who misappropriate modern technologies for their own
benefit."

Surveillance video showed Koski entering various
home improvement stores and replacing legitimate bar codes on copper wire
and other expensive merchandise with counterfeit bar codes that scanned at
lower prices. Through this scheme, Koski fraudulently purchased copper wire
for $60 to $90 and then re-sold it at California recycling centers for $200
to $300. To appear legitimate and sidestep the State's efforts to crack
down on recycling fraud, Koski created a phony business called "iRecycle".
The evidence suggests Koski may have netted over $180,000 through this
scheme.

In February, the Attorney General's eCrime Unit
launched an investigation after Lowe's reported to the offices of the
Attorney General and the San Diego District Attorney that Koski ran this
scheme at multiple stores throughout San Diego.

"Our office is
holding Steve Allen Koski responsible for his actions," said San Diego
County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis. "We do not tolerate scams and we
are aggressive about prosecuting perpetrators who think they can get away
with bilking businesses and consumers."

California is among
the top five states with the highest reported incidences of copper theft.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau reports 1,342 metal theft claims in
California from January 2009 to December 2011, with approximately 96% of
these claims pertaining to the theft of copper.

Last year,
Attorney General Harris created the eCrime Unit to identify and prosecute
identity theft crimes, cyber crimes and other crimes involving the use of
technology. More information available here: http://oag.ca.gov/cybersafety.